Cat missing for three years feline fine

A PET cat who returned home after going missing for three years has been nominated for an award by an animal charity.

Owner Lynnet Home had given up hope of seeing black and white cat Spats again.

But a few days after she bought two new kittens, the 17-year-old puss climbed through her kitchen window in West Linton in the Borders. Spats was in a "terrible state" but was nursed back to health by a vet. Now Cats Protection has shortlisted the animal for the Feline Oscars awards.

Ms Home, 20, a student vet, said:

"He had been by my side almost my entire life and I couldn't understand why he went. I was sitting on the kitchen floor when I heard the noise. I saw Spats crawling along the window ledge waiting to be let in, like he always used to."

Jim Toy, veterinary officer at Cats Protection, said it was rare for a cat to go missing for so long. "Spats obviously found ways to survive on the streets, whether this was scavenging for food or relying on kind people to take pity on him," he said.